Social Participatory Teaching and Learning – Lessons from a Partnership of Industrial Designers and Local Artisans (original) (raw)

Regional industrial design education aims to reinvent itself and adapt to local realities, such as the demands of industry and society, while providing object-oriented solutions. Artisan craftsmanship is one particular social demand. The present study therefore aims to better understand the role of industrial design in the production of artisan crafts. The User-Centred Design Workshop (UCD) for third-year industrial design students at the Universidad del Bio-Bio in Concepcion, Chile established a collaborative alliance between the “Fundacion Trabajo para un Hermano” (TPH) Concepcion1 (“Foundation Working in Fraternity, Concepcion”), the Universidad del Bio-Bio and artisans affiliated with the group “Comercio Justo Manos” (“Fair Trade Hands”). Together participants worked to identify opportunities and potential setbacks related to the micro-production of artisan crafts, from creation to exhibition of jewellery, wooden handicrafts, woven goods, felted products and handmade soap. Solut...